Agency Blacklisted for Disrespecting Jagannath Idol, Plaint Lodged Against Collector
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday blacklisted an agency that was engaged to erect the structure for Bhadrayani Lok Mahotsav at Nehru Stadium in Bhadrak district for allegedly abandoning an idol of Lord Jagannath at the festival venue.
The Bhadrayani Lok Mahotsav festival was jointly organised by Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) and the state government’s agriculture department from January 25 to 29. The festival was kick-started with the lighting of lamps and worshiping of the idol of Lord Jagannath. However, after the conclusion of the festival, the idol was found abandoned on the ground.
The district administration has ever since been drawing flak as many alleged it to be an act of disrespect toward Lord Jagannath.
Taking the matter seriously, the district administration on Friday blacklisted the concerned tent house supplier for utter negligence towards Lord Jagannath. The said supplier has been served a notice to refrain from doing any programme in the district.
“The concerned tent house has been blacklisted and it will no longer get further assignments. This apart, the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) has been asked to conduct a probe into the incident. Once his report is received, stringent action will be taken against those found responsible,” said Siddeshwar Baliram Bondar, Bhadak District Collector.
The Jagannath lovers took strong exception to the act of showing disrespect to Lord Jagannath. They staged a unique protest in front of the district Collector’s office on Friday by performing ‘Sankirtan.’ They demanded an apology from the district administration.
“Today I am speaking not as a politician, but as a common resident. I would like to say to the district administration and the BJD-led government to contact me on my mobile number whenever they install an idol of Lord Jagannath in any future festival. I would take care of the idol,” said Dhamnagar MLA, Suryabanshi Suraj.
On the other hand, the convenor of Jagannath Sena in Puri, Priyadarshan Pattanayak has lodged a written complaint at Singhadwar Police Station against the Bhadrak district Collector and Bhadrak MLA.
Meanwhile, the tent house owner Birupaksha Mishra acknowledged his mistake and tendered an apology.
